Wayne Rooney: Named in England squad for World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro

Rooney was injured in training and missed Manchester United's 1-1 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday but manager David Moyes expects him to be fit to face Sunderland on Saturday.

"Wayne Rooney will be okay for Saturday," said Moyes. "He clashed shins with Danny Welbeck (in training). At a push we probably could have risked him but we decided not to."

Hodgson said he was confident Rooney would be fit to join up with the squad.

"We are reliably informed that it's not a serious injury and it won't stop him joining up with us," he said.

Hodgson looks set to pair Rooney with Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, who also returns to the England set-up after injury.

Sturridge was previously absent from England duty with a thigh injury while Rooney's United team-mate Danny Welbeck was missing through suspension.

The England manager said he was looking forward to seeing Rooney play alongside Sturridge.

"I was thinking these two players are in great form," Hodgson added.

"I'm happy that at the moment things are looking very good squad-wise.

"I'm very hopeful and very confident that these group of players, as long as they come through this weekend's games, they will take us there (to the World Cup finals in Brazil)."

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t's wrong to be making a joke out of Bender's name at the expense of gay people. It's the kind of childish, uncivilised thing that Football365 would deride and ridicule if it was another media outlet saying. Why is there a need for jokes like this? Does it make your writers feel like men? F365 might suggest that I 'lighten up', but it is genuinely traumatic for people who have been oppressed all their lives to be the butt of jokes, and to be told...

ou can't blame De Gea for wanting to leave, he has enough to do in front of goal as it is as well as taking on the role of Man Utd's version of Derek Acorah in trying to contact and organise a defence that isn't there.